The Lost Art of Compassion
I’m not a religious man. I was raised in a non-denominational church by Baptist parents who instilled in me the value of kindness, understanding, and serving others. As I grew older, I found organized religions didn’t suit my independent mind and spirit. I have sought, instead, my own personal communion with my maker.
Even still, I find some great measure of respite and relief in perusing religious texts, and especially in reading the Bible. It was the first book from which I memorized sections, and like many books that I have read over and over, I find passages often coming to mind.
Here are a couple of quotes from the King James version I think are especially apropos today. America’s leaders — religious, secular, and governmental — would do well to practice a little more of the kindness towards each other that those same leaders tell us we need to practice amongst ourselves.
“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” — Matthew 7:1–3
“But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.” — Matthew 5:38–40
These passages came to me as I saw the current occupant of the White House practicing exactly the opposite at a National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., the day after his acquittal on impeachment charges. Name calling, pointing fingers, it’s all fun political theater designed to get you to turn on the news, to open Facebook, to check the day’s Tweets. And those outlets are there to sell you stuff.
That’s the whole point, really. To sell you stuff. Fox, CNN, Facebook: they want you to watch so they can sell advertising space. The more you watch, the more ads they can sell, the more money they can make off ads.
Facebook in particular is a toxic incubator in our current highly partisan social climate. And FB doesn’t want to change because that would mean less income from ads.
I can’t make our nation’s leaders — religious, political, and those who spew soundbites on radio and television — practice kindness and take these words of Jesus Christ to heart. I can’t make them practice what many of them preach.
But I can do it. And so can you. We can practice more kindness. We can practice more charity. We can practice more love. We can practice more understanding and compassion and honesty.
And maybe, just maybe, if we all start practicing more compassion, maybe that feeling of love and empathy and understand will trickle up to our leaders.
We can start in our own neighborhoods. Go talk with your neighbor. Talk with all your neighbors. Even the ones with whom you don’t agree. Because we are a lot more alike than we are different. Even if we look different, sound different, voted differently, or pray differently.
#lovetrumpshate #riseabove #bethebiggerperson #turntheothercheek
